The lack of climate measures sanctioned by the ECHR. Switzerland was convicted in the "grannies case"
The lack of action against climate change has led to Switzerland being condemned by the ECHR, which is a first for European justice.
A group of elderly women complained that heatwaves were endangering their lives, and the government in Bern took insufficient action.
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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on April 9th in favor of a group of elderly Swiss women who argued that the Swiss government's inadequate efforts to limit the effects of climate change were endangering their lives during heatwaves, Reuters reports, as cited by Agerpres. This is the first time the ECHR has condemned a state for its lack of initiatives to combat climate change, notes AFP.
The ECHR ruled that the Swiss government's failure to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets violated some human rights.
The ECHR's decision in this case, brought by over 2,000 women, could have a ripple effect in Europe and beyond, setting a precedent for how some courts handle human rights violations related to climate change, the source noted.
The verdict in the Swiss case, which cannot be appealed, could force the government to adopt more ambitious measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including revising targets for 2030 to align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Also on April 9th, the ECHR rejected two similar cases, the first brought by six young Portuguese against 32 European governments, and the other brought by a former French mayor against the Paris government.
